D&D 5E Which three classic settings do you hope for?

[Zaukrie]

After seeing his short-lived campaign in the Vale, I would place a restraining order on Mearls so he could never be within a kilometer of anyone working on the Nentir Vale.

funny how we view that so differently!

 

[jayoungr]

My top priority, honestly, is Planescape. That single thing would blow the multiverse wide open.

 

[Aldarc]

funny how we view that so differently!

His campaign was far from popular with most people who are fans of the Vale, so you are likely in the minority.

 

[Mercurius]

Hard to know what they mean by "classic" but my sense is anything produced by TSR, which would exclude Ghostwalk and Nentir Vale, and obviously Eberron.

I voted for:
- PS/SJ hybrid - because I like both, love the idea of spelljammers traversing the planes, and it was a sneaky way to vote for both with one slot.

- Full Forgotten Realms - because...be done with it. Just do it, get it out there, and move on.

- Dragonlance - because I'd love to see a modernized War of the Lance story arc, and I think Krynn is quietly underrated as a creative property, in some ways more unique than FR and GH.

Honorable mentions to Greyhawk, expanded Realms, and Dark Sun.

 

[bmfrosty]

Voted Dark Sun, Planescape/Spelljammer hybrid, and Greyhawk.

I have a strong interest in seeing what really distinguishes Dark Sun in actual play, and I'm not going to track down a group to do it in 2e.

I said Planescape/Spelljammer hybrid, because I think it will come in the form of an adventure that is mostly Planescape, and then goes Spelljammer in the final chapter.

I also think there's been an interest by all the non-grognards (myself included) about seeing what Greyhawk is all about - what really is different between it and an adventure on the swords coast. I can guess at the other two, but with Greyhawk it seems like a western fantasy setting that's less developed than FR.

EDIT: My current feeling on a GH setting would be to have it branch directly off the 1983 product, and make it mostly a rules change with a setting. The rules changes would probably be around death and exhaustion, and for character creation. I think character creation and race/class selection would be the other bit. Cutting it down to the 4 core classes and races with limited subclasses and race variants would do a lot to reign it in.

 

[Mercurius]

I said Planescape/Spelljammer hybrid, because I think it will come in the form of an adventure that is mostly Planescape, and then goes Spelljammer in the final chapter.

This is my feeling as well: a hybrid that is 90% Planescape, with Spelljammer as a variant approach to traversing the planes.

I also think there's been an interest by all the non-grognards (myself included) about seeing what Greyhawk is all about - what really is different between it and an adventure on the swords coast. I can guess at the other two, but with Greyhawk it seems like a western fantasy setting that's less developed than FR.

I'll probably get flack for this, but the differences aren't as huge as some make them out to be. They're both basically kitchen sink/vanilla fantasy settings, which provide the standard array of D&D options, and without a specific thematic approach (Dark Sun) or singular meta-story (Dragonlance) that defines play. I think the love of GH is mostly association and imprinting. Whether we're talking about first wave grognards (started pre-1980) or second wave (started in the 80s, like myself), Greyhawk was the first supported D&D setting. The 1983 box set was the first published setting I owned, and defined "official D&D."

Now Greyhawk does have a more sword & sorcery vibe, and of course famously (or infamously) far fewer mega-NPCs wandering around defining world events. But the difference comes down to the imaginations of Gygax vs. Greenwood, and perhaps the fact that the Realms has more of a community feel: though it still feels very Greenwoodian, it has been added and expanded by many others, while GH stayed relatively pure to Gygaxism, especially if you ignore the From the Ashes phase.

 

[Laurefindel]

My heart wants:

Forgotten Realms full treatment (yes I like FR, so sue me)
Birthright (plays on many themes not-yet explored in 5e)
Lankhmar (I know; they don't even have the rights...)

My head says:

"yeah, you can dream. Don't get your hopes up."

 

[Charlaquin]

I voted Dark Sun, Planescape/Spelljammer hybrid, and Dragonlance. I think those are the most in-demand classic settings with the most clearly distinct identities (many of the others, though they do have distinct identities, just kind of read as “another generic Western European fantasy setting” to a casual audience.) I think those three picks would bring the most satisfaction to the greatest number of folks who are eager for classic settings to return.

The planescape/spelljammer hybrid may be a controversial pick, as I imagine a lot of the fans of each setting would rather they get their own, individual treatments. But it allows an extra setting to be covered to some extent with only three picks, and honestly I think it’s the way WotC would most likely try to package it. Both settings play up the plane/world hopping element, so combining them makes the most sense from a marketing perspective - catch all the new players who want a world-hopping campaign setting with the same net. I wouldn’t be surprised if such a setting had a heavy dose of M:tG crossover as well, with the idea that it allows you to play as Planeswalkers, or as legendary heroes traveling on weatherlight-esque interplanar skyships.

Ordinarily I would vote “other” to represent Nentir Vale as well, but I don’t think there’s any realistic chance of being one of the three we’ve heard will be making some kind of appearance. And honestly, I’m no longer sure I’d even want WotC to do a Nentir Vale product for 5e anymore. It’s a lot like Grayhawk in that a huge part of its charm is that it’s so unfinished, and anything they would add to it would only feel unsatisfying next to the idiosyncratic ways NV DMs have already filled in the blanks for their home campaigns.

 

[Kolvin]

My first reaction was yawn not that dead horse again.

I'd rather get something new. I haven't had time to explore Exandria, or Theros yet but a world that based on 5e rather like Eberron was built around 3.5 would be my preference.

That being said if we have to go old give Greyhawk, a Planescape/Spelljammer hybrid, or full FR coverage.

Personally I think Netheril is probably on the slate considering the end of RotF.

 

[Tonguez]

This is my feeling as well: a hybrid that is 90% Planescape, with Spelljammer as a variant approach to traversing the planes.



I'll probably get flack for this, but the differences aren't as huge as some make them out to be. They're both basically kitchen sink/vanilla fantasy settings, which provide the standard array of D&D options, and without a specific thematic approach (Dark Sun) or singular meta-story (Dragonlance) that defines play. I think the love of GH is mostly association and imprinting. Whether we're talking about first wave grognards (started pre-1980) or second wave (started in the 80s, like myself), Greyhawk was the first supported D&D setting. The 1983 box set was the first published setting I owned, and defined "official D&D."

Now Greyhawk does have a more sword & sorcery vibe, and of course famously (or infamously) far fewer mega-NPCs wandering around defining world events. But the difference comes down to the imaginations of Gygax vs. Greenwood, and perhaps the fact that the Realms has more of a community feel: though it still feels very Greenwoodian, it has been added and expanded by many others, while GH stayed relatively pure to Gygaxism, especially if you ignore the From the Ashes phase.

I think that its because Greyhawk is less detailed is what makes it more relatable and ‘more D&D’. They’re both vanilla Europeanesque fantasy but:

FR imho is too complete, and too pristine, players already have the details of the world layed out for them with its bright maps, influential organizations, powerful NPCs and ubiquitous magic.

Greyhawk is a grittier ‘medieval inspired’ and lower magic setting, with far less detail which allows players to explore the dungeon, storm the castle and fill in the gaps themselves. There are powerful NPCs too, but practically all of them are trying to kill you rather than recruit you or provide friendly advice